


On The Tide (Short version)

by Hanajimasama



Category: The Magnificent Seven (2016)
Genre: Mermaids, magnificent Seven AU: Pirates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-03
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-23 13:26:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11990748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hanajimasama/pseuds/Hanajimasama
Summary: OKAY. SO Basically. It's the shorter version of 'On the tide' which itself will be longer eventually. Simply a pirate au for Magnificent Seven.





	On The Tide (Short version)

Life on the sea was not as smooth sailing and romantic as poets and songs imagined it to be. The ocean could be a cruel mistress and swallowed many sailors and pirates to its murky depths. Today was one of those days.  
The weather had turned so suddenly. A strong wind had brought forth a violent storm sweeping across the horizon. Dark charcoal grey clouds blocked out the sun covering the ocean in a foreboding darkness, angry winds pulled at the sails as the clouds unleashed walls of rain upon the sailors below. 

“WHERE THE FUCK DID THIS STORM COME FROM?!” Joshua Faraday shouted loudly tying down a canon to stop it sliding about the slippery deck. 

“The lord is testing us! To see if we can weather the storm” Jack replied.

The crew of the ship 'The Magnificence' that was in the centre of this storm were being battered by the brutal winds and the driving rain. Shouts of the captain Sam Chisholm of the vessel could just be heard over the howling winds. The ship jolted suddenly knocking everyone to their knees and as the ship started to lean to one side they all looked up in horror as a wave that was half the ships height hurtled towards them. 

“Brace yourselves!” Vasquez shouted over the storm. Scrambling to their feet they rushed to tie themselves to the wooden rails or anything nailed down to ready themselves for the might of the ocean.

The wave struck the ship with a raging force, it swept across the deck claiming anything that wasn’t tied down. One crew member was ripped from the rail he was tying himself to.   
The wave pulled him down beneath the surface handing the sailor over to the current which clung to him tightly and dragged the struggling man into the murky depths.

Back on deck his presence was quickly recognised. Goodnight who was the first to notice and ran over to the railing slipping and sliding on the wet decking as he gripped at the rail and peered over the edge ready to dive down and save his friend “BILLY!!”  
Sam set a hand on his shoulder “There’s nothing we can do Goody. Not in such treacherous waters.”

 

Beneath the waves Billy struggled trying to swim against the unyielding current. The surface seemed so far away he could see the hull of the ship above him and no matter how he swam he couldn’t get any closer. Tired and full of dread Billy could swim no more and the air finally escaped his lips, the bubbles of air rushed out of him seemingly unaffected by the current as they drifted towards the surface.  
Billy relinquished himself to the tide and felt his body fall deeper into the depths.

A strange current softly brushed and whirled around him. He fell no more as the current held him gently. Opening his eyes he was greeted by a mass of golden hair that blocked out the view of the ocean around him and a pair of blue eyes that seemed to glitter and glow in the darkness. They looked at him curiously and it leaned in close inspecting him. Looking up at the surface the creature looked back at him touching his face with pale fingers before wrapping its arms around his chest and swimming effortlessly against the powerful current he could not overcome. He couldn’t keep his consciousness the water was filling his lungs rapidly and his eyes were clouded with the vision of the pale beauty before him

“Hang on. I have you.”

Billy didn’t remember anything after that. He next found himself on the deck of the boat coughing up harsh salt water surrounded by his crew mates all soaked from the storm that had passed as quickly as it had come. 

“Good lord you’re okay” Billy slowly pushed himself up his voice was sore from the coarse water, 

“You have the luck of the devil, eh Cabron” Vasquez joked helping the shivering man onto his feet.

“We found you floating by the ship after the storm cleared” 

“You’re lucky to be alive.”

Billy tried to remember but all her could recall was the fair maiden with hair like the sun, blue eyes that glittered like jewels and a soft voice that was carried by the tide. He stood looking over the railing down at the blissfully calm waters and stared out to sea, out of the corner of his eye he noticed a flash of light, leaning over the railing he saw something that looked like fins too long and elegant to be any sea creature he had ever seen, silver tipped with blue he only caught a glimpse of it as it vanished beneath the ocean waves.   
“A mermaid” he mumbled but that preposterous, they were myth it was a simply trick on his tired mind caused by his trip into the waters.

 

For the crew of the Magnificence things went back to normal, as normal as things can be when you're chasing pirates. The ship was ship shape and clean as it could be with the constant spray of sea air. Jack and Goodnight the two oldest members of the crew met with their Captain in his quarters to deliver the damage. All three men had been part of different navel crews and one thing and another they ended up on the Magnificence with their rather unorthodox crew. They sailed the open seas for the most part to bring one particular band of sailors, Bogue trading company. Ex-naval, he traded in flesh and goods pillaged from towns and harbours, anything he could take and sell. Nobody stood in his way or they were quickly dispatched by either him or his ruthless crew. Sam had lost something precious to Bogue and he was not going to let him get away with it. 

“So how is it?” Sam asked looking up from a map laid out on a large mahogany table, a gold sextant and small spyglass weighed the thick parchment down in place.

“Good news we didn't lose too much in the storm” Jack started with the good news “No crew injuries other than Billy's dip in the ocean but he'll be fine”

“The bad news?”

“The storm set us off course and Bogue has given us the slip. The only way we'd make any head wind would be to go through Angel's cove” Goodnight presented his bad news and leaned over the map pointing to the sunken ship symbol on the weathered map “It would be a bit touch and go but I think we should be able to navigate it”

“I still disagree. I've been on the oceans for years and I've heard of no sailor making it through there” Jack had been a well decorated member of the navy since his youth his experience and knowledge of the oceans was always helpful. Their captain stared at the mark on the map and sat down in his chair humming low as he contemplated his options. Letting Bartholomew Bogue get away was out of the question but was it worth risking his crew to the dangerous patch of ocean that had swallowed countless ships that tried to navigate it's fast currents and hidden obstacles. 

“It's risky.”  
“We can do it Sam.” Goodnight looked Sam in the eye and his unwavering confidence won. Sam sighed and nodded. Together, somehow they could do it. He rose from his chair looking at the map one last time, 

“Let's go chart the course then.” grabbing his hat setting it firmly on his head he left his quarters with deep rooted conviction. They had to catch up to Bogue that rotten excuse of a sailor had a lot to answer for. Goodnight's voice rang across and through the ship summoning the small crew to the deck to await Sam's directions. 

“We're going through Angel's cove”

“Are you mad? Angel's cove? Where you meet the angel of death? No one has made it through there alive!” Faraday was the first to argue this decision. The others shared his concern but were not so vocal about it.

“Now I understand your objections but this is the only way to catch up to Bogue.”

“We can do it” Billy was the next to speak but in favour of bracing the danger, he had been a pirate after all and that was a life flooded with risk and the constant possibility of death. Eventually all crew members were ready to take on the cove.

“Well then. Set sail for Angel's Cove!” Sam ordered climbing the stairs to the helm and looking out to the distance. Perhaps the rumours of the cove were simply rumours and legends and they could simply pass through. Sam could only pray. 

In the distance strange rocks emerged from the horizon. The crew slowly stopped running about the deck and leaned over the rails or hung from the rigging to stare at the eerie scene they were cruising towards unfold. 

“Those rocks look weird” Faraday pointed out taking a swig from a bottle of whiskey in his hand.

“Those aren't rocks Güero,” Vasquez corrected as the outcroppings became more visible “Those are ships.”

They were here. Angel's Cove. A resting place for ships and sailors. Hopefully they would not be joining the deceased in this watery grave. 

 

The waters of Angel's Cove were not the thing they should have been worried about. The ocean was strangely calm and there was a good strong breeze, it seemed their concerns had been misplaced. Sam had left the helm for a second to speak with Jack and Goody both who seem unnerved.

“Something wrong?” Sam asked “It seems we were wr-”

“No. Something is wrong. Something unholy” Jack interrupted putting a hand on his crucifix and looking nervously out to sea,

“This is seemingly a good short cut to take but it's taken a lot lives. Why?” Goodnight carried on, he opened his mouth to voice another concern when the ship jolted suddenly sending everyone off balance. The trio whirled round to look at the helm. Stood at the ship's wheel was Faraday the least seaworthy of the seven, the only reason he was here in the first place was because of the money Sam had offered him. 

“JOSHUA!” Jack shouted “WHAT ON EA-” Faraday seemingly comprehended to their angry cries and stepped slowly back from the wooden wheel. “Good lord Joshua what on earth compelled...” the older man trailed off as the young sailor in question staggered over to the edge of the bow of the ship and climbed onto the railing. 

“Can't you hear it? It's beautiful.” Joshua closed his eyes and sighed wistfully like a man in love, 

“GÜERO DON'T!” Vasquez was running up the other set of stairs up to the helm but he wasn't quick enough Faraday leapt from the ship and plunged into the cold waters below. They gathered at the railings peering down into sea but Faraday didn't resurface. 

“I'm going in” Vasquez announced dropping his hat to the floor and just got his foot on the rail when the sound of Red Harvest dropping down from the rigging stopped him diving to Faraday's aid. 

“Don't. There’s something in the water” he said cryptically and out of breath. It took a lot to unnerve Red Harvest so something definitly had him spooked.

“Sharks?” Red shook his head

“I don't know but” the Magnificence shuddered to a halt. The ship seemed to creek and wail as the ocean beneath it slowly started to tilt the ship on it's side. Goodnight ran to the wheel and desperately tried to steady the ship. He turned to Sam with a grave expression with his hands still trying to move the ship.

“It's stuck.” Sam ran to his aid and tried but to no avail. The Magnificence carried on shifting. It was completely on it's side now. The rail was touching the ocean's surface which rose up the wooden as if reaching up to touch them. 

“GET AWAY FROM THE WATER!” he warned loudly trying to cling to the wheel for his life.   
Vasquez was trying to scale the wood to Red's outstretched had but he couldn't get any traction and the water seemed to slide up underneath him dislodging him from the ship guiding him down into the ocean.

“GOODY!” 

Goodnight peered over the wheel to see Billy trying his best to hold on but the water near him was so high already. 

“BILLY!” Goodnight let go of the wheel and tried to grab onto the rail that would help him down to the main deck of the ship but the waters rose up to meet the Cajun like the waves upon the shore it swept Goodnight into the ocean before anyone could move to save him. 

The song Faraday had spoke of finally reached their ears. It was a soft, sweet melody that seemed to ease their worries and fears. A sinister giggle followed it. Jack was right something was off. Everything had seemed so calm and serene but it was to mask the dangers that lurked beneath. The waters twisted into human shapes. Women. Jack uttered the words 'Sirens' as the water creatures sang to them and tried to lull them down with delicate songs that seemed to drain them of their will and energy. Billy was the next to fall vanishing beneath a sudden wave. Jack tried to fight but the sirens dragged him under Red too who had moved to the older man's aid. Only Sam remained. The waters moved further tilting the ship until it's hull was facing the cobalt blue sky above them. A captain must always remain with his ship.

 

Under the ocean as Billy stared up at a familiar scene, the sun beaming down on him as the waters claimed him as a trophy he was grabbed suddenly from below and brought back up to the surface. He threw back his head as he breached the surface and gasped for air coughing up the harsh salt water that had filled his lungs. Billy got his bearings just in time to see the hull of the Magnificence being swallowed by the ocean. The dread set in. 

“NO! GOODY! I-I have-”

 _“No.”_ the otherworldly voice that had haunted his dreams whispered to him. He couldn't get a view of the being behind him but it pulled him effortlessly through the ocean and to a nearby outcropping of rocks. _“Please. Stay here. I'll look.”_ Billy clambered onto the rocks and caught a view of the silver tail he saw that night disappear beneath the waves. 

The ocean reverted back to it's calm and alluring splendour now the Magnificence was under the tides. Billy sat on the rocks staring down the surface, he shivered from the wetness of his clothes and the crisp sea air. He sat and waited for what seemed like an eternity until a mass of blond hair broke the surface. Scrambling from his spot he moved to the edge of the rock and looked at her with fear and doubt. 

_“I'm sorry. I wasn't quick enough.”_ Billy couldn't find the will to speak. Everything he had was gone. The ship, the crew, his friends gone just like that. His body trembled but not from the cold but from overwhelming grief, tears ran down his cheeks as he cried silently. A gentle hand touched his face wiping the tears away _“I know you grieve but what are you going to do?”_ Billy stopped and thought about his current position, his ship had sunk and he had no way off this rock. _“I want to help but even though I could swim you to the nearest island you would die from the cold of the ocean before we made it and there won't be any ships for some time. Your kind avoid this place and for good reason.”_

“Take me to them” Billy responded quickly and sternly which shocked the young maiden “I will go down with my captain and my friends. I have nothing left to live for” he added sombrely. 

_“I can reunite you with your crew. I shall guide them back to your ship. Might I ask something selfish?”_ Billy nodded curious to what this mermaid could possibly want from him _“I..Might I stay with you and your crew? I like you.”_ her request was so strange and yet simple. Billy smiled weakly and slipped into the ocean beside her. This time he comforted her wrapping his arms around her small frame, she returned the gesture burying her face into his chest _“I just wanted to protect you.”_

“You are though.” she looked up at him tears running from her own eyes “you're going to protect my crew and I aren't you?” 

_“I don't want to kill you”_

“You're not.” he assured her tilting her chin up to look at him “You're saving me” he leant down to kiss the young mermaid tenderly. As their eyes met she could see his conviction and nodded kissing him again she pulled him under the surface. Their embrace tightened as they fell deeper and she didn't break their kiss until she felt his heart stop. She swam no more and just held her sailor crying for her lost love and broken heart. 

Keeping true to her words she carried Billy back to the Magnificence which was now trapped between two large clusters of rocks near the ocean floor. She found a room with a table and sat billy down in one of the chair tying his ankle to one of the legs with seaweed so he didn’t' float away. She made several trips finding each one of the crew and bringing them back to their ship seating them at the table until all seven were back aboard their vessel and here they would remain for eternity beneath the oceans they used to sail.

**Author's Note:**

> I admittedly did a little cry writing this. ;_;


End file.
